A visual log of reasons to visit California’s Central Coast

Monterey ended up being one of those instances in traveling when plans fall through. The place we booked had us listed for the following evening, and so did the place we reserved in San Luis Obispo. So, we had to scramble (just a little) to find a place to sleep, and if that didn’t work out, we would have to go car camping.

In the end, we found a place a few miles away (which is really lucky for a situation like that on the Central Coast in the summer) that was $20 less than the original place! Sometimes, things work out for the better 🙂

The visit to Point Lobos was inspired by Google Maps (because it was labeled), and the visit to Moonstone Beach was inspired by a post from over a year ago by an Instagram user I follow. While there were no moonstones in immediate sight, it was still lovely to see all the colorful rocks.

We also stopped by Elephant Seal Rookery because why not? It was on the way and there were signs indicating the place existed. It turned out to be an entertaining stop, too, because watching the elephant seals spar for 10 seconds and then flop back down is pretty funny. What’s I really like about the coast is that even if you drive it without a plan, there are a whole bunch of turnouts and viewpoints along the way that can make up for a lack of predetermined stops.